Worth
by anxiousgeek
Summary: Pepper is worthy. But she doesn't quite believe it. Mentions Pepper/Tony, slight Pepper/Natasha. Pepper Potts fic.


It was winter when it happened.

In New York that meant it was cold, even in the tower. Pepper had come to realise that super heroes didn't really feel the cold; either because they were super soldiers, or Gods, or just Russian. Even Tony was used to the New York winters, but Pepper – Pepper missed California. Missed the way Jarvis never had to put the heat on until Christmas was close and the way the sun shone even on the dullest days,

She may have been romanticising it a little in the cold of the Penthouse but she was fed up of asking Jarvis to turn the heat back on after Tony had turned it off.

Or maybe she was just fed up of the cold.

She had the AI warm the Penthouse up while she went down into the communal areas of the tower, where the Superheroes congregated together like damn polar bears apparently and a few floors down she wished she'd put on a thicker top. Winter in New York was pretty sometimes, she didn't disagree and she loved the city but she was rotten when she was cold and grumpy.

And Tony always avoided her when she was grumpy like she would bodily injure him. When she was cold though, mostly she just wanted to warm up, to have him try and remind the others that not everyone living in the top floors of the towers could take temperatures below zero. Or in Pepper's case, below room temperature. Except he was avoiding her, as usual, and Jarvis was under orders not to tell her where he was in the tower and she was looking for him to warm up more than anything else.

Then it happened.

She walked past the coffee table and knocked Mjölnir over. The sound was thick as it hit the carpet, and it reverberated the floor and through her feet. Before carrying on she lifted the hammer up and placed it back on the table.

Pepper was half way across the room before she had even realised what she'd done.

What she had just lifted.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes Miss Potts."

"Did I just do that?" she asked, looking back at the hammer on the table.

"Yes Miss Potts, you did indeed lift Mjölnir."

"I – I shouldn't be able to do that."

"According to Thor, only those worthy can lift the hammer."

"Then, that was a fluke, because I am not worthy," she said, walking over to it.

"I beg to differ Miss Potts, I would consider you very worthy. Not only have you spent the past ten years putting Mr Stark's life before your own, your childhood also says a lot about your character and worth - "

"My childhood?" Pepper cut in, looking up at the ceiling.

"Also, you understand the importance of endeavours such as the Avengers Initiative, despite many personal sacrifices on your part."

"I'm just a bit cold Jarvis, I hardly gave anything up."

"I disagree Miss Potts," the A.I said and before he could go into another speech about her, she cut him off again.

"This. Didn't. Happen." She said. "Erase the video, no one else is to know, voice recognition only okay, Potts Alpha Nine Nine Zero Gamma."

"Yes Miss Potts."

With that she walked away and continued to look for Tony.

z

She couldn't stop thinking about it.

She had lifted up Mjinlor. Easily. It wasn't even heavy, or an effort. She had picked it up, and put it back on the table without even thinking about it.

At one point even Thor couldn't lift it up. Coulson had told her the whole story.

She told Natasha.

Not Tony, because he was incapable of acting calm and rational and _quietly_ about these sort of things. But Natasha, Natasha was a damn spy. She was all about secrets and so Pepper told her, leaning against the woman's kitchen cabinets, wrapped up in a jumper against the low temperature of the Russian's apartment.

"Really?"

"Yes," she said with a sigh, she hadn't expected Natasha not to believe her. "Jarvis can confirm it. Potts Alpha Nine Nine Zero Gamma."

"Miss Potts did indeed lift Mjölnir," the AI said.

"I was right," Natasha said.

"You were right?"

"I knew either you or Rogers would be able to lift it," she said with a smile. "Has Steve ever tried?" she asked Jarvis.

"No Miss Romanoff," he replied. "He has gone to, but changed his mind before gripping the handle."

"He's afraid of the answer being no," Natasha said. "Why did you try?"

"I didn't. I just lifted it off the floor without even thinking," Pepper said, "I knocked off the coffee table and then picked it back up again."

"Because you can, because you're worthy," she said, giving the word worthy an edge.

"Why me?"

"Really?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have already to convince Miss Potts of the many reasons why she is capable of lifting Mjölnir," Jarvis chimed in. Natasha sighed, then smiled.

"I am not worthy? I mean why me?"

"Because, Pepper, your heart and your actions say so. And the hammer, or the magic, or the universe, or whatever, agrees."

"But what about you? Or Clint. Or even Tony."

Natasha shook her head.

"Our hearts aren't as pure as yours," she said, "and our actions don't match up either. Plus Stark and Barton are jerks," she added.

Pepper smiled at that, then frowned again.

"Now what? I don't want to be a superhero."

"No one's saying you have to be," Natasha told her, reaching out to take her hand. "Thor isn't likely to give up his main weapon to a human anyway. But one day you'll need to step up. You'll choose to step up and save a life. That's what makes you who you are Pepper. That's what makes you worthy.

She didn't quite know how to respond to that and when Natasha leaned forward to kiss her the cheek she stuttered out a few noises but no real words making the red-head chuckle.

"It also means you are worthy of my affection," she told her. "Even Barton didn't get that much after he was possessed by Loki."

"Miss Romanoff did give him a concussion though," Jarvis interjected, making Pepper laugh.

"How do you know that?"

"Jarvis knows everything. Tony makes sure of it," Pepper told her.

"That's a little disturbing."

"I know."

They were silent again for a moment, and Natasha squeezed the hand she was still holding.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"I think so," Pepper said, nodding. "Don't tell anyone okay? Maybe it didn't mean anything."

Natasha shook her head.

"Pepper, one day you're going to rescue us all," she told her and Pepper believed her.

The woman had never sounded so certain.


End file.
